Ultra-low power accelerometer for IoT

It can wake up automatically when it detects motion and returns to sleep mode when the movement ends, thus avoiding waking the main application processor. This feature significantly reduces battery consumption to extend charging intervals.

For Internet of Things (IoT) applications like indoor climate systems and security systems in smart homes, the BMA400’s continuous measurement capabilities and always-defined bandwidth make suited for hassle-free usage. For example, it can reportedly avoid false alarms, by distinguishing between genuine alarms like broken glass and false signals coming from random vibrations.

Its ultra-low power consumption means replacing batteries is a far less frequent chore for homeowners. These qualities led to the BMA400 winning the CES 2018 Innovation Award in the category Embedded Technologies.

Until recently, engineers specifying an accelerometer have had to choose between low power and high performance. Now, the BMA400 has changed that by combining ultra-low power consumption, outstanding performance and advanced features, such as a built-in step counter that uses only four microampere. The BMA400 draws ten times less current than existing accelerometers. Hence, there is no longer any need for design compromises.

With its built-in voltage regulator, the BMA400 delivers stable performance over a wide supply voltage range. It offers flexible device tuning for power consumption, noise and ODR (output data rate) parameters. The BMA400 has a current consumption of 14μA at highest performance, continuous measurement and a noise density of 180μg/√Hz. This drops to just one microampere and below in the device’s ultra-low power self-wake-up mode.

The compact size of only 2.0x2.0x0.95mm³ and the integrated plug-and-play step counter make the BMA400 easy to design into new types of wearables such as regular watches and jewelry.